Austin MacGinnis - Pro Football Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/21

August 16th, 2021 at 8:32am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Signed: LB Bryson Young
Cut: LB Reggie Walker

Atlanta Falcons

Waived: OL Bryce Hargrove, LB George Obinna
Reverted to IR: WR J’Mon Moore

Baltimore Ravens

Re-signed: QB Kenji Bahar
Placed on IR: CB Khalil Dorsey, CB Iman Marshall

Chicago Bears

Waived: OL Gage Cervenka, DB Dionte Ruffin, WR Jester Weah

Cincinnati Bengals

Waived: WR Reece Horn, WR Riley Lees

Cleveland Browns

Placed on IR: TE Stephen Carlson, WR Ryan Switzer

Green Bay Packers

Waived: OL Jon Dietzen, P Ryan Winslow

Houston Texans

Waived: WR Isaiah Coulter
Waived/injured: RB Dontrell Hilliard

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed: LS Matt Overton

Los Angeles Rams

Waived: K Austin MacGinnis, LB Derrick Moncrief, T Ryan Pope, OLB Max Roberts, DL George Silvanic
Released from IR: DB Dayan Lake

Miami Dolphins

Signed: WR Khalil McClain
Waived: TE Carson Meier

Minnesota Vikings

Waived/injured: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl

New York Giants

Signed: QB Brian Lewerke
Waived/injured: QB Clayton Thorson
Placed on IR: LB TJ Brunson, OL Kyle Murphy, S Joshua Kalu

New York Jets

Waived: K Chris Naggar
Activated off PUP list: DL Quinnen Williams

San Francisco 49ers

Waived: LB Donald Payne, DL Eddie Vanderdoes

Seattle Seahawks

Waived: LB Nate Evans, OT Lukayus McNeil, CB Jordan Miller, DT Walter Palmore, WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams, RB Cameron Scarlett

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/18/21

January 18th, 2021 at 4:38pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

With the Ravens, Browns, and Rams getting eliminated from the playoffs over the weekend, both teams announced their slew of reserve/futures deals on Monday. As a reminder, these are all non-guaranteed deals, usually for practice squad type players, to help teams flesh out their 90-man offseason rosters.

Baltimore Ravens

LB Aaron Adeoye, DT Aaron Crawford, DT Braxton Hoyett, QB Tyler Huntley, WR Jaylon Moore, LS Nick Moore, DE Chauncey Rivers, DB Nigel Warrior, DB Chris Westry, RB Ty’Son Williams, TE Eli Wolf

Cleveland Browns

S Elijah Benton, WR Ja’Marcus Bradley, TE Jordan Franks, CB A.J. Green, G Cordel Iwuagwu, QB Kyle Lauletta, DE Cameron Malveaux, TE Kyle Markway, K Matt McCrane, LB Montrel Meander, C Javon Patterson, FB Johnny Stanton, T Alex Taylor, WR Derrick Willies

Los Angeles Rams

QB Bryce Perkins; WR JJ Koski; TE Kendall Blanton; OG Jamil Demby; DTs Eric Banks, Marquise Copeland, Michael Hoecht; DE Jonah Williams; LB Christian Rozeboom; DB Donte Deayon, Tyrique McGhee; LS Colbin Holba; K Austin MacGinnis; P Brandon Wright

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/10/20

December 10th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Willie Snead

Dallas Cowboys

Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Chidobe Awuzie

Denver Broncos

Signed off Ravens’ practice squad: CB Nate Hairston
Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Diontae Spencer

Green Bay Packers

Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB A.J. Dillon; Dillon had been on the Packers’ virus list since testing positive Nov. 2

Indianapolis Colts

Signed off Ravens’ practice squad: T Will Holden

Los Angeles Rams

Promoted: K Austin MacGinnis

Minnesota Vikings

Signed off Colts’ practice squad: TE Hale Hentges

New England Patriots

Activated from IR: TE Devin Asiasi
Placed on IR: TE Ryan Izzo
Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Julian Edelman; Edelman remains on IR

Pittsburgh Steelers

Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Vince Williams

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/20

October 27th, 2020 at 5:40pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ll keep track of the practice squad moves from the past day here:

Arizona Cardinals

Signed: CB De’Vante Bausby

Baltimore Ravens

Released: S Marcus Gilchrist

Carolina Panthers

Released: CB Josh Hawkins

Chicago Bears

Signed: WR Dwayne Harris
Released: DT Terry Beckner

Cincinnati Bengals

Released: CB Jalen Davis

Cleveland Browns

Signed: OT Alex Taylor
Released: DE Jalen Jelks

Dallas Cowboys

Signed: P Hunter Niswander

Jacksonville Jaguars

Released: T Jared Hilbers

Kansas City Chiefs

Released: QB Jordan Ta’amu

Las Vegas Raiders

Signed: DB Kemah Siverand

Los Angeles Rams

Signed: K Austin MacGinnis

Minnesota Vikings

Signed: CB Marcus Sayles
Released: LB Cale Garrett

New England Patriots

Signed: T Jordan Steckler
Released: G Jordan Roos

New York Giants

Signed: WR Corey Coleman, DB Montre Hartage, TE Rysen John

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed: WR Anthony Johnson
Released: WR Amara Darboh

San Francisco 49ers

Signed: OL Tony Bergstrom, DL Willie Henry
Released: CB Brian Allen, OL Cody Conway, DL Adam Shuler

Tennessee Titans

Signed: OL Paul Adams, LB Will Compton

Washington Football Team

Released: DE Gerri Green, DB Manny Patterson, LB Donald Payne

Rams Cut Kickers Austin MacGinnis, Lirim Hajrullahu

September 4th, 2020 at 3:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

In a move that may or may not make the final episode of the latest Hard Knocks season, the Rams have decided on a kicker.

The team made the decision Friday to waive kickers Austin MacGinnis and Lirim Hajrullahu. This will leave Sam Sloman, a seventh-round pick out of Miami (Ohio) as Greg Zuerlein‘s successor.

Sloman separated from the other two competitors over the past week, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue (on Twitter). Sloman made 87% of his field goals as a senior for the Redhawks last season.

The Rams signed MacGinnis and Hajrullahua as UDFAs this year. This will mark the first time since 2011 the Rams will head into a season without Zuerlein as their kicker. They opted to let the Pro Bowl specialist walk in free agency, when he signed with the Cowboys.

Rams To Sign K Lirim Hajrullahu

April 13th, 2020 at 2:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have agreed to sign kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Hajrullahu, as Pelissero explains, comes to Los Angeles with a CFL all-star resume and an unbelievable life story.

Hajrullahu was an 8-year-old boy when the Kosovo War flared up. One year later, his family managed to escape the danger by moving to Canada. In spite of all the hardship, Hajrullahu grew up to become a two-time CFL all-star and a league champion.

Along with Hajrullahu, the Rams also announced the signing of kicker Austin MacGinnis, who most recently played with the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. In the XFL’s partial season, he nailed all ten of his field goal tries.

The Rams are on the lookout for a new leg after Greg Zuerlein joined the Cowboys late last month. Young GZ has turned in some fantastic seasons over the years, but he made only 82% of his tries last year. The Rams are looking for more consistency, and they hope to find it with either Hajrullahu or MacGinnis.

Cowboys To Try Out Kickers

December 1st, 2019 at 11:11am CST by Rory Parks

We heard just two days ago that the Cowboys would not be moving on from sophomore kicker Brett Maher, but the team is at least putting Maher on notice. As Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets, Dallas is bringing in three kickers for a workout today.

The Cowboys suffered an ugly loss to the Bills on Thanksgiving, and while there was plenty of blame to go around, Maher missed two field goals, which triggered speculation that Dallas could look for a replacement. Indeed, Maher has struggled to a 67.9% success rate on field goal attempts in 2019, which puts him among the league’s most inaccurate kickers.

That mark is well below the 80.6% success rate he posted in his rookie campaign in 2018, and while he is perfect on PATS this year, his accuracy on medium- to long-range kicks leaves much to be desired. Maher has connected on just five of 12 attempts from 40 yards or more.

Per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys are working out Austin MacGinnis, Nick Rose, and Tristan Vizcaino (Twitter link). Of those three, only Rose has any regular season NFL experience.

It’s unclear if the Cowboys would consider cutting Maher if they are impressed by one of the tryout players, but they are at least trying to spur Maher into a quick turnaround.

Giants Hold Kicker Workout

November 26th, 2019 at 5:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

A year after Aldrick Rosas made the Pro Bowl, the Giants are working out kickers. Rosas missed two field goals in the Giants’ five-point loss to the Bears.

The Giants brought in kickers Blair Walsh, Giorgio Tavecchio, Austin MacGinnis and Cole Hedlund on Tuesday, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).

While Rosas did not kick well in Week 12, also booting a kickoff out of bounds, it would still be rather surprising to see a team give up on a third-year kicker who received a 2018 Pro Bowl invite. Rosas made 32 of 33 field goal tries last season and missed just one extra point. This year, he has not received nearly as many field goal chances. The former UDFA out of Southern Oregon is 8-for-12 on field goals and has missed three PATs.

Walsh caught on briefly with the Falcons and worked out for the Patriots and Jets this year. He also took part in a January workout for the then-kicker-needy Bears. Tavecchio and Walsh were briefly Falcons teammates this summer. The former held Atlanta’s kicking job for part of the 2018 season.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/16/19

October 16th, 2019 at 8:10am CST by Sam Robinson

Here is the latest from the workout circuit:

Chicago Bears

DL Daryle Banfield, DL Fadol Brown, C Anthony Fabiano, DL P.J. Johnson, T Kyle Murphy, C Keegan Render, DL Jay-Tee Tiuli (per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter)

Cincinnati Bengals

DE Nate Orchard, DT Anthony Zettel (via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, on Twitter)

Cleveland Browns

LB Marquis Flowers (per Wilson, on Twitter)

Green Bay Packers

S Chris Johnson, RB David Williams (per Wilson, on Twitter)

Houston Texans

T Chris Clark, T Kyle Murphy (per Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com, on Twitter)

Indianapolis Colts

DB Trae Elston, S Mike Tyson, DB Isaiah Wharton (via Wilson, on Twitter)

Kansas City Chiefs

DT Justin Ellis, DL Mike Pennel (per Wilson, on Twitter)

New England Patriots

K Nick Folk, K Greg Joseph, K Austin MacGinnis, K/P Austin Rehkow, K Giorgio Tavecchio (per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, on Twitter)

New Orleans Saints

RB Travaris Cadet (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, on Twitter)

New York Jets

C Ryan Crozier, DL Corbin Kaufusi, C James Murray (per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News and Wilson, Twitter links)

Pittsburgh Steelers

RB Tony Brooks-James, RB Darrin Hall (via Wilson, on Twitter)

Seattle Seahawks

LB Andrew Dowell (visit), LB Brady Sheldon, LB Sutton Smith, LB Pita Taumoepenu (via Balzer, Twitter links)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

LB Keishawn Bierria, DB Jordan Brown, C Anthony Fabiano, LB Robert McCray, WR Eli Rogers, RB Aca’Cedric Ware, LB Kyle Wilson (per Jenna Laine and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, on Twitter)

Tennessee Titans

LB Nigel Harris (per Wilson, on Twitter)

Washington Redskins

FB Tommy Bohanon, FB Michael Burton, FB Derrick Coleman, RB Josh Ferguson, FB Tre Madden, FB Elijah Wellman (according to Wilson and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Twitter links)

Bears To Sign K Redford Jones

January 25th, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears’ kicker workout Friday ended with a rookie coming aboard. One of the lesser-known specialists trying out, Redford Jones, will be added to the roster, according to Jones’ agency (Twitter link).

Jones joined Nick Folk, Blair Walsh, Josh Gable, Ernesto Lacayo and Austin MacGinnis in the kicker derby, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Chicago will go with Jones, a 24-year-old Tulsa product who was out of football this season, as the player who will compete with the embattled Cody Parkey.

This was the first known NFL workout for Jones, whose Tulsa eligibility ran out after the 2017 season. He was the Golden Hurricane’s kicker for three seasons. After missing eight kicks in 2015, Jones went 21-for-26 in 2016 and 12-for-16 as a senior.

While it is far from certain a Parkey-Jones duel will be how the Bears decide who their 2019 kicker is, this is how the competition stacks up for now.